Praying God's promises

1 A PROMISEis only as good as the person who makes it. The character of thepromiser is what gives the promise its value. As we learn to pray God s promises , the starting point is the nature of essence of God s character is in itself a promise . Who He is determineswhat He will do and how He will act. Through the Scripture, each time Godreveals something of His nature, He is promising us that He will be true tothat nature in any circumstance. Sometimes the promises of God don t comepackaged in declarative statements, but instead are implied in the revelationof His has always dealt with His people by communicating promises to promising first, then performing what He has promised, He awakens in usthe desire and expectation that find their outlet in the prayer of faith.

2 Hispromises prompt might illustrate that process like this. Recently, I saw an ad in a magazinefor noise-cancelling headphones. Until seeing that ad, I had no desire fornoise-cancelling headphones. I did not experience the lack of noise-cancelling headphones in my life. But once I knew they were available, Ibegan to desire them. I began to notice how loud the world was and to imagine how it might be if only I had noise-cancelling headphones. Knowing they were available awakened in me the desire to possess where to find them motivated me to seek them DOES GOD HEAL PHYSICALLY IN RESPONSE TO PRAYER?

3 Praying God s PromisesbyJENNIFER KENNEDY DEANGod makes promises to us for much the same reason. He is letting us knowwhat He has available if only we will ask. His promises are meant to ignitefaith and expectation and desire, and then to point us to Him. His promisesact to bind our hearts to His. His promises turn our eyes toward Him. Many people have been disappointed when they have prayed God s promisesand then did not experience what they believed God had promised. Maybeyou have had that experience. If so, you are not me suggest some things for you to , remember that there is a difference between believing in an outcomeand having faith in God.

4 I have discovered in myself the tendency to decidewhat God should do, then construe a promise so that it matches my expectation. I might pray that promise , with the subtext being my definitionof how that promise should impact my situation. Over all the years that theLord has had me in His school of prayer, a lesson that I have to keep learningat deeper levels is how to let the Word of God speak to me without my preconceived expectations being imposed on example, suppose that someone felt a strong desire to be there is nothing wrong with that.

5 But let s imagine that personpicks out a promise like Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4). The person says, The desire of my heart is a spouse. If the Lord is true to His promises , then He will give me aspouse. Here I believe is the misunderstanding: we tend to mistake thedesire of the moment for the desire of the heart. God created the desire of our hearts and He knows it better than we do. In this case, the desire of theheart is for companionship and intimacy.

6 Often, God fills part of that desirewith a spouse. However, all married people will agree, if they are honest, that a spouse does not fill that need fully. A spouse is not the desire of that2 DOES GOD HEAL PHYSICALLY IN RESPONSE TO PRAYER? person s heart. Rather, a spouse is one means for fulfilling that desire. Godwants to fulfill the desire of your heart. A person who is seasoned in prayingthe promises knows to let God fulfill the desire of your heart in His way atHis time. If prayer is focused on the subtext we have imposed on the promise , then we might experience disappointment.

7 If, instead, we arefocused on God, then we will never be God s Promisesby Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Executive Director of The Praying LifeFoundation. Discover the difference between a prayer lifeand a Praying Praying .